


A Promise He Kept

by Sev1970 (mk_malfoy)



Series: Maleficium Series [2]
Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-06-26
Updated: 2005-06-26
Packaged: 2017-10-04 04:56:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mk_malfoy/pseuds/Sev1970
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This follows the events of my fic "Maleficium," and may be understood a bit more if you have read it, but this fic can stand alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Promise He Kept

**Title**: A Promise He Kept  
**Author**: Sev1970

**Date Written**: June 26, 2005  
**Rating**: M - because of Character Death only  
**Characters**: Bill/Hermione, Severus, Two OC’s  
**Summary** This follows the events of my fic “Maleficium,” and may be understood a bit more if you have read it, but this fic can stand alone.  
**Disclaimer**: JK Rowling owns everything HP; Little Harry and Ronnie do belong to me, however!

Thanks to Magdelena for betaing this and for helping me decide what to add, and what not to – it is so very nice to have someone who can tell you when you have gone too far!

~*~

Severus had been true to his word and had lived…for Harry. He woke up in the morning, went through the motions of living during the day, and reverted into his fantasy world as soon as night fell, one where he was with Harry.

It had been five years…five excruciatingly painful years, and the residents of Hogwarts had watched as the once commanding figure had all but disappeared, leaving in its place a shadow of a man, someone who lived only because he had to, not because he wanted to.

He did have times of happiness, however. Most days were spent with Hermione and Bill's children. Bill and Hermione had married and had twins: Harry and Ronnie, three years earlier. Those boys were Severus's life -- he lived for them now, although he still would rather die and be with his Harry.

Bill and Hermione, who both taught at Hogwarts now, had repeatedly asked Severus to move in with them, but he had refused, saying they needed their family time together without him intruding. He did want to be with his godsons every minute of the day, but knew he was a burden, and he would not become more of one than he already was.

~*~

"Bill, he is not getting any better. Ever since he came down with that fever last month, he seems to be getting worse instead of better. I was sure Harry and Ronnie would help him get through this, but they haven't."

Bill sat down beside Hermione and shook his head. "I think we both know it is not just his being sick that has Severus so down. He's ready to go, Hermione."

"He was ready the day Harry died, Bill, but he said he would live, for Harry."

"That he did. He is miserable, though. He shouldn't have to live that way. It would have been better had he died with Harry."

Hermione's face contorted into a frown. "How can you say that, Bill? That man has suffered more than I can imagine, but he is a human being, with so much love to give. I don't want him to ever die."

A somber Bill stood up and walked to the fire, looking at the pictures on the mantle. There were several pictures of the twins of course, two family portraits with the four waving happily at the camera, a picture of Ron taken shortly before he had died, and in the center, a picture of Harry and Severus. Neither was smiling, but just by looking at the picture, it was evident how much each trusted the other. Bill ran his fingers over the frame of the two, then traced the photograph of his dead brother, and smiled through the tears that had begun falling. He turned to his wife and wiped away a tear. "Do you think I want him to die? I have already lost so much. First Ron and Harry, then Mum, and probably Severus, as well. He is the only part of Harry we still have. I don't know what I'll do if anything happens to him. It's just so hard seeing him so sad all the time."

Hermione stood and walked to her husband and wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. She loved Bill and her children more than anything, but she knew her husband had loved Harry, and she knew he was still suffering, not as much as Severus, but suffering none the less. She had gone through a fair amount of grieving herself, over Harry, and over Ron, who she had always thought would be her husband. Both she and Bill were married because of Harry and Ron's deaths, there was no denying it.

She looked up and watched as Bill continued looking at the pictures, and then looked over to the door leading to the guest bedroom where Severus was. Hermione had refused to allow him to leave, saying he needed a good night's sleep, and she knew he would not get one if he returned to his dungeons.

"Bill, why did you marry me?"

The startled Weasley looked down at his wife and smiled. "Because I love you."

"What about Severus?"

Bill shook his head. "What about him?"

"After Harry died, I just figured the two of you would find each other. I know he still loves Harry, but I know had you shown an interest, he would have married you."

Bill could hardly believe what his wife was asking, but in truth, he had expected it a long time ago. He had loved her as best he could, but perhaps she needed more. He wasn't sure what to say, but figured the truth was in order.

"I thought about it. I wanted to have a piece of Harry, and Severus was as close as I could ever get, but had we gotten together, Severus would have felt as if he were betraying Harry, and I couldn't allow that to happen."

Hermione said nothing, just nodded.

"I do love you, Hermione. I would not have married you if I didn't. You were the one who helped me after Harry and Ron died, and somewhere along the way I fell in love with you."

Smiling, Hermione raised up on her toes to kiss her husband on the lips. "I love you, too." She had wanted to broach this subject for so long, but the opportunity never seemed to present itself. Now that it had, Hermione felt much better. "I'm going to look in on Severus and the twins before I go to bed."

Bill nodded. "Okay. I'm going to look in on them before I turn in, as well. I won't be long."

~*~

Severus was sitting on the sofa, Harry in his lap looking at a book, when Bill walked in. Ronnie was on the floor playing with a deck of 'magic cards.' Smiling, Bill cleared his throat. "How are my two favorite boys in the world, doing?"

Ronnie stood up and ran to his father who picked him up and turned him around before hugging him, which made him giggle. "Look at what I did, Daddy." He pointed to his cards, which were divided into two stacks and smiled brightly. "Uncle Severus gave them to me."

"Did he, now?" Walking over to the sofa, he deposited his son next to his brother, and pressed a kiss to little Harry's forehead. "I see you are in your favorite place. What are we reading today?"

Harry pulled on his daddy's sleeve. "Look -- this is Uncle Harry, Daddy."

Bill's face paled, but he smiled, trying to speak without shaking. He had hidden the photo album soon after Harry died. It was hard to look at reminders of happier times, and he knew Severus did not react well to anything that reminded him of Harry.

"You know, you were named after him."

"Yes, Uncle Severus told me. Where is Uncle Harry, daddy?"

Bill smiled. "He is in Heaven, Harry, with the angels."

"Oh. Did he get sick like Grandmother Molly and Uncle Ron did?"

"Yes, sweetie, he was sick." Harry would not be old enough for many years to understand what truly happened, and even if he was, Bill would not inflict any undo pain on Severus. He could tell the pale man was having a difficult time. "Why don't you and Ronnie go play in your room? Daddy needs to talk to Uncle Severus."

The two three-year-olds took off into their room without a word, bringing a smile to Severus's face. Bill took the photo album from Severus's lap and sighed. "I know this was not your idea. Sorry."

Severus shook his head and even smiled slightly. "Harry found it and brought it to me and asked who all the pictures were of, and I couldn't very well not tell him."

Bill nodded and sat down beside Severus. "The boys love you, Severus."

"And I, them."

"Thank you for talking to Harry and telling him about Harry; I haven't been able to."

Severus turned his head to meet the eyes of Bill. "You would have had he asked."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Bill," Severus said with a shaky voice, "your sons will give you the strength you need to go on, just as they have done for me. There hasn't been a day that has passed since my Harry died that I haven't thought about ending it all and joining him, but for some reason, I am still here. You’re your little Harry sat on my lap and showed me the 'book' he had found, there was no place I would have rather been at that moment. Yes, it was hard seeing my Harry smiling and waving at me as if he was just gone for the day, but it was what I needed. Do you know that the day before he died, I still was unsure how I felt about him? I knew I loved him, but I did not know if what we had was true or if it was because of what we had gone through. Looking through the pictures today, I know… I love him, Bill. We had so little time together, but at least we had that time. No one can ever take it from me. I think I shall not live on this earth much longer. I can feel Harry calling to me, but while I am here, I will be happy with what I have been given, Bill."

~*~

"Daddy, Mummy, come quick; it is Uncle Severus. He fell down."

Bill was in the sitting room within two seconds, and knelt beside Severus. "Severus?" He repeated the man's name a few times, and shook him, but there was no response. "Severus, wake up. Harry and Ronnie, please go to your room."

"But, Daddy--"

"Please, boys, do as I ask." The two boys did as they were asked, and within a minute, Hermione was beside Bill. The paling man looked at his wife, and shook his head. "He has a pulse, but it is very weak. I don't think there is anything we can do for him now."

"I should get Madam Pomfrey."

"No. Hermione, let him be with Harry; he deserves to be happy."

Hermione nodded through her sobs. "You don't think he--?"

"No, I think he had a heart attack. As we both have witnessed, he has never truly recovered from what he had last month. I guess his heart was just too weak to carry on."

"He kept saying he wanted to see Harry; I thought it was the fever. I never really thought he would die, Bill."

Bill placed an arm underneath the man's knees and another underneath his back and lifted him. He carried the lifeless man to their bedroom and laid him on the bed. The two sat beside him for a few minutes, and then Hermione stood up. "I'll be in the other room with the boys, love."

Bill smiled weakly as he caressed Severus's face. "We'll miss you, Severus, but you can finally be happy again." He leaned over the pale body and placed a kiss on the man's lips, and laid his head on the now motionless chest. "Tell Harry I said hi, okay?" Bill ran his fingers through the greasy hair and couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. "You really are a greasy git, you know."

Bill fire-called Madam Pomfrey and after the matron had taken Severus's body away, Bill walked to the entrance of the twins' room. Hermione was reading them a book and had each of the twins sitting on a knee. Bill knew they would have to tell the boys something, but exactly what, he wasn't sure. What he did know was that Harry's death five years ago had claimed its second victim. Molly had only lasted two years, and had died soon after the twins were born. Her heartbreak over losing Ron had been too much for her.

Hermione looked up at Bill and handed the book to him as he approached. "Will you finish this please? There is something I need to do."

Bill nodded and mouthed to his wife that Severus was gone, and then opened the book when he had assumed the position Hermione had been in minutes earlier. He began reading, and made the twins laugh as much as he could with his different voices. When he finished, he placed the book on the small table and looked down at his precious sons, who were looking at him with the sweetest smiles he had ever seen.

"I love you, Harry and Ronnie. You and your mother are my world."

Harry furrowed a brow, and looked perplexed for a moment. "What about Uncle Severus, Daddy?"

"Yes, he was my world too. He went to be with Grandmother Molly, Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry today, boys."

"You mean we can't see him anymore?" said Ronnie.

"I am afraid not, but you know he'll always be in your hearts, just as Grandmother Molly, Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry are."

Harry smiled and giggled. "Uncle Severus is happy with Uncle Harry now, isn't he, daddy?"

"Yes, he is very happy now, I am sure."

"He told me he missed him, Daddy, and said he was so happy that you and Mum named me after him. I think I made Uncle Severus smile."

Bill nodded. "You made Uncle Severus very happy, love."

Bill looked up as Hermione entered and lowered the boys to the floor before joining his wife in the sitting room. "He didn't use it, did he?"

"No, it was still there. I just had to check, Bill. We both know how badly he wanted to go to Harry."

"Yeah, but I knew he wouldn’t break his promise," said Bill.

"I can't believe he kept it all these years and never used it, but I guess it shows how much he really loved Harry. I think you had something to do with it as well, though, Bill. You and Harry were so much alike, and being around you helped Severus; I could see it in his eyes. Oh by the way, Minerva is back and wants us to have dinner together tomorrow evening. I don't think she was shocked at all by Severus's death; she just shook her head and said he was finally at peace."

"Yes, he and Harry are together at long last. I'll owl Minerva and tell her yes, but I doubt I'll have to; she can't stay away from her grandchildren for long. I give her half an hour."

Hermione laughed. "I give her fifteen minutes."

"You're both wrong. I couldn't wait another second."

~*~ The End ~*~


End file.
